Healing of Wounds
by propensityforpyrotechnics
Summary: Lily discovers that friends can come in the most unlikely forms. Some of the chapters may seem pointless, but they all have important parts to them. Read and Review please! Completed
1. Lily's Night In

**Dislaimer: If I was lucky enough to own these characters, I wouldn't be here writing a prequel to someon else's story.**

Hogwarts was quite empty past midnight. Students were all in their common rooms, with the candles put out, and they were peacefully dozing in the four-poster beds.

Yeah, right.

The corridors were a buzz of activity. After all, it was a Saturday night, what student would want to be in bed? The teachers, exhausted from a week of detentions, loud bangs and the reversal of spells-gone-wrong, couldn't care less about their duties, and had gone home, or were snoring deep in their sleep.

Saturday night usually meant that a Quidditch match had just been played. Now, what fun is it to have a celebration party in the common room? There were so many excellent places in, and outside, the castle that were never guarded by teachers.

The only "people" who patrolled the corridors were the ghosts. Drifting eerily and popping out unexpectedly through walls made many of the younger students quite intimidated. However, the older, more experienced students knew the ghosts thought it was great fun to watch the students scurrying about past curfew. They knew that you only lived once.

The only problem was Peeves. Cackling softly, who would hide in suits of armour, and if a younger student walked past, he would leap up, and chase after the student, throwing ink bottles at his or her head. He also found it fun to intrude on a party, and throw the food everywhere. He was quite a distraction. But the main problem was, near an area where a party was being held, he would float outside and scream at the top of his lungs, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED, FILCH! GET YOUR LAZY ARS-", and so on. That is a sad party ender, because Filch had a photographic memory, and could pick out from a line of students each one he had seen.

However, this party was carefully planned, and the students had ensured that no one would interrupt their celebration. Filch's evening Firewhisky was slipped something extra that had been made in a Potions class, which ensured that Filch would not wake until noon on Monday.

As for Peeves, some crafty students had waited for him to enter a suit of armour. After a few clever spells, they had left, and Peeves found himself very confused as to why the suit of armour had sealed itself, and why his tongue seemed to be glued to the roof of his mouth.

Gryffindor had, after a slow start, managed to scrape a few victories. In today's Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff, after 6 minutes of play, the Snitch flew up the Seeker's sleeve and Gryffindor was declared victorious. The odd thing was, the Seeker was usually and excellent catch, but he and his friends, who were notorious for sneaking out at night, had all looked extremely tired that morning. However, this spectacular win had put Gryffindor into the semi-finals, an achievement that many had given up on, since the Gryffindor keeper was out after falling off his broom as he was startled by a butterfly that collided with his head. He maintains that it was actually a bird and it was twice the size anyone had said.

So a party had been organised to honour the heroes, and of course, to stay up as late as possible. Even the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had asked to join, as they were looking forward to a Gryffindor semi-final, which usually turned violent and was quite entertaining to watch.

Only the Slytherins didn't join the party, they were sitting in their common room formulating plans that would prevent the Gryffindors from playing. Others were in abandoned classrooms, looking up dark spells in books stolen from the Restricted section in the library.

There was one other person who didn't join in the celebrations. A young fifth year, with long auburn hair could be found in the abandoned Gryffindor common-room, hunched over a piece of parchment with the heading, "The Properties of Moonstone and it's Uses in Potion-making." She had already written four feet worth of words, an accomplishment that her classmates found ridiculous to understand. Her friends had begged her to come to the party, but she had remained stubborn, saying the essay was due on Thursday, and if they had any sense that would finish it now. But the truth was, she just didn't feel like seeing anyone.

"Lily, do you want some help?" a kind voice asked, she twisted around in her chair. It was the Lupin boy. He looked tired, just like his other friends had. Lily sniffed, thinking of what they might have been up to last night.

"What makes you think I need any help?" she retorted.

"Well," he answered, clearly trying to hide a smile, "I was watching you from the armchairs near the fire, and you've been staring at the same spot on your page for five minutes, and you spilt your ink and its been dripping onto the carpet. I don't think you noticed."

Indeed, Lily looked down and a large black mark had spread along the carpet and was soaking the hem of her robe. She pulled out her wand and bent down to remove the stain, but Lupin beat her to it. The ink was removed from the ground and reappeared in her suddenly-upright bottle. The ease which Lupin had done that astounded her.

"How long is your essay?" she asked, trying to draw attention away from her clumsiness.

"Five feet, but my writing's a little bigger than yours."

"So, your finished?"

"Yes, I wanted to finish so I could join everyone at the party. It was quite a game, did you go?"

"Um… no, I wanted to spend some time alone."

Lupin looked at her curiously, he obviously knew something was up. "Is this about that jerk Snivellus calling you Mudbl… that name?"

Lupin didn't realise that cut her deeper, he had no way of knowing just how much it had hurt Lily. He obviously saw a change in her expression though, "Oh Lily, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, it doesn't. I'm just getting tired. I think I'll finish this tomorrow. Go join the party Remus." Lily began packing up her quill, parchment and ink.

"Remus put a hand on the parchment before she could lift it. "Lily, I think you should come. Forget about school for a while. Everyone else is there, and it would mean a lot to your friends if you came. Sometimes, to have fun, you have to break the rules."

With that, Remus left, smiling at Lily as he opened the portrait to exit.

Lily felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. She also felt like she could count Remus as a true friend.


	2. New and Old Friends

As Remus left her, Lily felt more alone than ever. She was trying to maintain her brave face, but her heart was crying. She had lost her best friend, and she knew that somehow, she should have seen it all along.

She felt the tears beginning to pool in her eyes. Not a good sign. Maybe Remus was right. Maybe she did need a break. Abandoning her attempt at work, she threw her quill, parchment and ink bottle into her bag. She swore loudly as she realised she didn't put the lid back onto it, and all the ink that had been on the floor was now soaking her bag and her attempt at a project. She made a mental note to ask Remus to teach her how to cast his spell properly.

The party would have started by now. She vaguely knew where it was, there was a room on the seventh floor, near the tapestry of some guy trying to teach trolls ballet. It was called the Room of Requirement. Lily had never been there, it was notorious for parties, rule breakers and people looking for a bit of private space. Lily had no intention of walking in on two people in uncomfortable positions, as Lily knew one of her friends, who had a bit to much Firewhiskey, had done with her boyfriend in their fourth year.

"_Locomotor bag_," she muttered, and her bag levitated into the air, following the movement of her wand. Lily dashed up the stairs. She knew the part would go all night, and she didn't need to rush, but Lily knew she had a bad habit of talking herself out of this kind of thing. The faster she moved, the less likely she was to change her mind.

Ten minutes later, Lily emerged into the common room from the tower. Her long auburn hair, which was usually tied into a simple bun, was falling freely down her back. Her dress, one she had brought from home, was warm and comfortable. She felt free already, like a tremendous weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Examining the empty common-room, Lily noticed how inviting the armchairs by the fire looked. "No, no distractions," she mumbled, shaking her head to clear it of unwanted thoughts.

Stepping through the portrait hole, Lily had the feeling that she could do this. She didn't need to hide behind books any more. She needed to forget, and to start over. This was the perfect way to do it.

Lily found the tapestry of the ballet-dancing trolls quite easily. However, she had absolutely no idea how to get into the Room. Pacing up and down the corridor, she looked for a sign, and note, anything to tell her where the party was.

"Hello Lily," a soft voice drawled. Lily's heart stopped. Not now, not today, not here! "Long time, no see."

"That's funny," she replied, forcing her voice to remain calm, "because I actually can't see you. And to be perfectly honest I really don't want to."

The voice cleared its throat from behind her. She swung around, and the result of that small movement was enough to make her vomit. Luckily, she fought for calm. A tall boy with a hooked noise and greasy hair had just emerged from his hiding spot behind a large patterned vase. Lily backed away slightly, and at the same time, the boy stepped forward. His movement was considerably larger, and closed a small part of the distance between them.

"In case you haven't noticed Snape, I have no interest in talking to you."

"Don't call me Snape, Lily. Please? Why can't you call me Sev, like you used to?"

"Oh, I see, you want me to call you by your nickname _Sev_. That way, you can call me by that one you made up for me. What was it? _Mudblood_ maybe?"

"Oh come on Lily, you know I had to say that? I'm not meant to talk to you, it would look weird, and I would get into trouble."

Lily's wand was out faster than she thought was possible. She aimed it straight for Snape's heart. The blood was pounding in her ears and her heart was racing. She couldn't remember ever being friends with such a slimeball. "Not meant to talk to me? It would look weird? You would get into trouble?" screeched Lily, her voice rising every word. "Those freaky people who call themselves Death Eaters, am I right? No, I'm sure they wouldn't be happy at all, that's why they like to jinx anyone who isn't of 100% pure blood! Remember Susan Daller? It took them a week to find her, and when they got her out of her trance, she could only say one word. Snape. Over and over."

"Lily, I swear to you, it wasn't meat to happen, I didn't want to, they made me-" Snape was forced to duck and roll as a jet of red light was fired from Lily's wand and slammed into the wall where a second ago, Snape had been standing.

"It _was _you? You did something to her? She hasn't been the same since, you know. She faints whenever a Slytherin stands near her. They thought she would never stop hiding in bathrooms. You could have killed her! You stupid, slimy…" Lily trailed off as Snape drew his wand. She never thought he would point a wand at her.

She acted before she thought. "_Levicorpus_," she thought desperately, and Snape was hoisted into the air. But he was back down just as quickly, an amused smirk on his face. "Honestly Lily, are you so stupid to think using a spell I invented against me would work?"

Snape began walking towards her. Lily didn't know what to do. Snape was the better wizard, no doubt, how could she fight him? Snape took three steps forward, but no more. At that moment three streams of blue light hit Snape squarely in the chest, and he fell to the floor. Turning around, Lily was startled to see her unexpected saviours. Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and James Potter. All three looked livid.

"Well, well, Snivellus. Haven't you got anything better to do than crash a party you weren't even invited to?" James stood in the middle of the three, with Sirius on his right and Remus on his left. James was speaking to Snape. Remus smiled at Lily, Sirius winked. Snape scrambled to his feet and reached for his wand. But he was too slow for Remus's lightning fast wand work. Before Snape even realised, his wand had flown at of his hand and was resting about ten metres from him. Sneering at them, he leapt to his feet and sprinted down the hall, scooping up his wand as he went. After he had turned a corner and was out of sight, James, Sirus and Remus approached Lily slowly, obviously not forgetting she had a wand in her hand.

"Talk about a mood killer," joked Sirius, trying to make them laugh.

"Easy Padfoot, give her a break." Remus moved towards her, looking concerned. Lily noticed how grown up he seemed compared to his friends. Looking around, she also noticed that James, who was usually loud and obtrusive, was hovering in the background. He was staring at her, but slightly differently to Remus and Sirius. Lily blushed self-consciously.

"Where's Pettigrew?" she asked, trying t make it look like she was fine.

Sirius laughed, an odd, dog-like bark. "Ha, Wormtail never really enjoyed parties. He's in the library with Rosie Warden, from Hufflepuff. Personally, I never understood what she sees in him."

Remus shook his head. "Lily, are you alright? He didn't hurt you or anything, did he?"

"'Cause if he did," interrupted James suddenly, "I swear I'm going to take his head and-"

"Mad!" cried Sirius, examining the hole in the wall made by Lily's spell, "You would have blown a hole in his head with the size of that blast!

Lily couldn't help it. She burst into very noisy laughter. She hadn't laughed so hard in a very long time. In fact, Lily couldn't remember a time she had laughed this hard in her whole life. When she finally regained her breath, she was able to look up, and saw her companions looking at her strangely.

Sirius was laughing hysterically at her reaction, he had gone red in the face and was holding his stomach. Remus was looking at her like she had gone completely mad, but it was obvious he was concealing a small smile.

And James was looking shyly at her, smiling slightly. Lily had never seen him look so self-conscious. She was breathing heavily after all her laughter, and James asked her if she needed to sit down.

"No, I think I need to dance."

Again, they looked at her as though she had taken leave of her wits. "Seriously," she said, "You guys need to introduce me to some people. But first, can anyone tell me how to get into this Room? It's driving me mad!"

James, Sirius and Remus burst into laughter, and pointed to a door right in front of Lily. She could have sworn it wasn't there before. Remus, always the gentleman, advanced forward and opened the door for Lily to pass through. Sirius, however, dashed in first, and as Lily went through next, she could have sworn she saw Remus nudge James in the shoulder and wink.


	3. A Little Crush

The party wasn't like anything Lily had ever seen. Everyone was dancing and laughing, and they all seemed quite comfortable and relaxed. They all looked so happy. Lily felt so out of place. She froze in the doorway, staring around with wide, terrified eyes. Lily felt a slight push in the back and realised that Remus was trying to get her to move further in. Noticing the dilemma, Sirius grabbed Lily and dragged her through the entrance, and straight towards the refreshment table. James and Remus followed behind. Lily began to wonder why they were taking such an interest. However, instead of joining in, she just stood there, unsure of what to do.

"Lily, do you want a drink?' asked Remus, who still looked cautious. Lily denied, saying she wasn't thirsty.

Sirius sighed loudly, and replied, "Evans, either you take a drink by your own free will, or I am going to permanently stick it to your hand!"

"That's not a good idea," said James quietly, "Remember what you did to Wormtail? Professor Flitwick wasn't happy that he had to unstick his bum from that toilet seat."

"Oh, come on, I only stuck his pants to it! But the idiot couldn't work out that he could just step out of them!"

Remus rolled his eyes as the two friends argued, pressed a Butterbeer into Lily's hands and began talking to her about the potions essay. Lily realised Remus was trying to make her feel more comfortable, and was extremely grateful to him.

James had disappeared, and it took Lily a while to see he had been forced into the centre of the room, and people were congratulating him on his spectacular catch. Lily was confused, until she remembered that James was the Seeker who had got them into the semi-finals. She noticed that he had suddenly changed. He had been quiet and reserved when he was near Lily, but now that he was in the centre of attention, he was loud, yelling and laughing like he usually did. Lily found this extremely odd. When she asked Remus about this, he looked at her strangely, like she was missing something obvious. Then he laughed, when he saw the clueless look on her face.

Sirius approached them, carrying about half the food that had been on the table, and began tipping countless Cauldron Cakes into Remus and Lily's arms.

"Eat them, quickly," he said, "or those seventh years are going to be after my blood. I had to jinx all of them so I could get this many."

Remus began telling him off, right as James emerged from the crowd of adoring people. Taking a Cauldron Cake, he began talking to Lily, asking her all kinds of questions. They were talking about Lily's family, when Sirius burst in loudly, with another Butterbeer for Lily, and a request for her to make her way to the dance floor where some of her friends were waiting for her.

Rosie, Sarah, Jasmine and Samantha, Lily's friends, all shrieked with delight when they saw her and asked what miracle had persuaded her to join them.

She danced with them for a while, forgetting how out of place she felt. Lily introduced Sirius to Jasmine, and the pair began talking. After a while, they were seen in the corner of the room, dancing closely together. Sarah and Remus were introduced, and the two struck up a conversation about Elf rights. Samantha excused herself, saying she had spotted a very cute sixth year sitting by himself, and she approached him and was occupied for the rest of the night.

Lily asked Rosie the time, who said it was about three, and the party was destined to be an all-nighter. Lily was shocked, she had arrived at about eleven, and the four hours had flown by! Half an hour later, Rosie said she was feeling too tired, and went back to the common room. No sooner had she left, than James was by her side. Lily began talking to him, and gradually the conversation turned towards Quidditch. She usually avoided the subject, because she found it was not intellectually stimulating or thought-provoking, but when she was talking to James, she found it incredibly enjoyable. Lily promised James she would come to the next match, which was a Gryffindor-Ravenclaw semi-final. Both teams were eager to make the final against Slytherin, so it was bound to turn a little nasty.

James asked Lily if she was going to the next Hogsmeade weekend. When Lily said she didn't know, James leaned forward and asked if she would like to go with him. For the past two years, every time James had asked her something like this, she would turn him down with hatred. But something was different now. James seemed to be more genuine and nice. Lily was about to say she would think about it, but at that moment, the door burst open and Peeves flew into the room. Evidently he had escaped the prison students had created for him, and he wasn't very happy.

Someone screamed as the first Stinkbomb was thrown from his arms. It landed right in the food table, and the contents exploded everywhere. The next one hit Sirius, who was separated from his close embrace with Jasmine. Looking angry that he had been interrupted, Sirius whipped his wand out from his pocket and fired. His spell hit Peeves in the arms, and three of the Stinkbombs slipped from his grasp. James pushed Lily out of the way, and all three burst on James head, right where Lily had been standing a moment before. Trying not to laugh, she pulled out her wand and siphoned the stinky mess off him, thanking James for being such a gentleman and the colour really brought out his eyes. James said if she wanted to rub it in, he would ask Peeves to throw one at her.

A seventh year was the first to come to his senses. Pulling out his wand, he charmed one of the Stinkbombs into wedging itself down Peeves' pants, where a moment later, it exploded. Peeves flew out of the room in rage and embarrassment, clutching his buttocks and screaming swear words that Lily didn't know existed. Several people cheered, and the seventh year grinned happily.

Although Peeves was gone, no-one was in the mood anymore, as the entire place, and many of the students, smelled like that had been washed in Thestral manure. The party dispersed, and many students trudged towards the showers, mumbling insults and revenges under their breath.

Lily returned to the common room. Samantha was gushing about the sixth year, Andrew, and how he had asked her to join him in Hogsmeade. Jasmine was looking slightly dishevelled, her hair was a mess and her make-up was slightly smudged. She was interrupting Samantha, talking about the charm, wit and all-round good looks of Sirius Black. Sarah was explaining to Lily hers and Remus's plan to introduce new rights for house elves, and ways to end the prejudice against half-breeds, such as werewolves. Apparently, Remus was quite interested in Sarah's view on the required measurements for werewolves to be accepted into society.

Lily sat in the common room long after her friends had gone to bed. She was just about to doze off, when the portrait hole opened again. In came Remus, Sirius and James. Sirius and Remus in a head lock, and the latter was trying to reach for his wand. James looked up as he entered, and when he saw Lily, he lost his balance and tumbled through rather than walked. Remus bade Lily goodnight, and asked her once more if she was alright. Sirius said he hoped her evening had been as "productive" as James' was. James aimed a kick at him before Sirius dashed up the stairs to the tower. James stood in front of the fireplace, looking at Lily in a way that made her feel like jelly. He thanked her quietly and said he had enjoyed talking to her. He kept stumbling on some of the words. As he walked behind her armchair and up into the tower, Lily could have sworn his fingers brushed her shoulder.

Lily sat in that armchair for another twenty minutes. She was very confused. In one night, she had made a new enemy, three new friends, broken free of her usual "no parties" routine, and she had never felt better.

She had also, possibly, maybe, developed a tiny little crush on the Gryffindor Seeker.


	4. A Helping Hand

The next week passed in a blur. Things started to change around Lily. It started with a simple request. On Sunday morning, the night after the party, Lily had woken at about eleven. Most of the Gryffindor residents were bleary-eyed and shuffled around the common room without saying much to anyone. It took Lily ten minutes to find any of her clothes and then as she re-entered the common room, she realised she had put her shirt on backwards. When she came back down another ten minutes later, the Gryffindors had succumbed to their hunger and had gone to the Great Hall for breakfast. Or rather, an early lunch.

Lily walked down the stairs sadly. The night before had been one of the greatest of her life, but she highly doubted that anything would come from it.

Lily's friends were absent from the Gryffindor table, they were still dozing peacefully in their four-poster beds. Lily had tried to persuade them to join her, but Rosie said if she laid a finger on her, Lily would be walking around for the next month with flying bogies attacking her. Lily decided it was best to appease. Lily felt her mood drop even lower, as she contemplated the thought of sitting by herself today.

"Lily!" someone cried, "We saved you a seat!"

Lily couldn't believe it. On the opposite end of the Gryffindor table, a boy with shoulder length hair and exceptional good looks was standing up on his bench, waving to her frantically, grinning widely. She suppressed a laugh as Sirius, showing off for some girls looking at him in awe, toppled off his feet during an impressive display of dancing and collapsed right into James' lap.

She approached them, doing her best not to look intimidated or over excited. "Hi Remus, Sirius, James," she stammered breathlessly, as James pushed Sirius onto the floor.

"Hey Lily, do you want to join us?"

"Thanks Remus."

Lily noticed that the only spare seat was next to James. Her heart picked up a pace. She sat down next to him, and he muttered hello. Looking up, Remus and Sirius were too slow to hide the wicked grins on their faces. Lily distinctly heard a loud thump, and thought James must have kicked Sirius, whose eyes were watering in pain.

After a slightly awkward moment, they began talking, all four of them. Apparently, Peter was in the library again, with the Hufflepuff girl he's been spending, 'lots of private studying time with' as James put it. James asked Lily is she had done the Potions essay, and Lily said she had finished. Sirius butted in and said Lily could help James complete his. Sirius earned another kick under the table for that.

"So Evans," mumbled Sirius, whose mouth was over-flowing with food, "do you ever eat at all?" He tipped three sausages onto her plate, and promised she either ate them, or they would become attached to her robes. She meekly tucked into her food, and Sirius seemed satisfied.

"Don't look now," muttered James quietly, "but I smell a rat. A slimy, greasy-haired rat."

"Well Potter, I knew your lifetime aim was to hook up with as many girls as possible, but would you really sink so low as a Mudblood?" Snape sneered, approaching their table and looking at Lily with disgust. Lily wanted to hit him.

Wands had been drawn before Snape had finished his sentence. It was a stupid thing to do, really, the Great Hall is always packed with teachers, and McGonagall could spot trouble from a mile away.

"Wands away!" she cried, advancing on them before Snape had pulled out his wand, "Immediately! There is no need for wands to be drawn! Detention for all of you, and 10 house points from Slytherin, and 10 for each of you from Gryffindor!"

This was met by several cries of outrage from the nearby Gryffindor students, including a few from some passing Hufflepuffs.

"Professor! Snape called Lily a Mudblood!" James protested. Lily felt extremely grateful to James.

"I don't want to hear another word! You will ALL come to my office tonight at six o'clock. You too, Miss Evans, and we can discuss what was said and done then."

Lily was ready to accept this, but Sirius wouldn't give up so easily, "She didn't do anything!"

At the same time, James shouted, "But Professor, there's Quidditch practice this afternoon!"

Remus added his own opinion to the shouting match, "He started it!"

"ENOUGH!" McGonagall yelled, red in the face. The entire hall was watching now. Lily spotted Dumbledore over McGonagall's shoulder. He was surveying the situation with a calm but obviously saddened expression. Snape mouthed to Lily, with a sneer on his face, "Watch yourself." Dumbledore shook his head and turned away.

"I have to go," muttered Lily, swinging her bag over her shoulder. Before she looked into the faces of her companions, she turned away from them, and walked as fast as possible out of the Great Hall. "I need air, now." Lily pushed through a group of first years, who were clustered together, and cried out shrieks of alarm as they were forced to the ground. As Lily strode through the doors of the castle and felt the first breath of fresh air, her problems seemed to melt away. But the heavy feeling they had cause remained.

"Miss Evans?" a soft voice enquired from behind her. Lily swung around, determined not to reveal the tears that had been threatening to overflow from her eyes.

Professor Dumbledore stood a few feet away from Lily, looking down at her with obvious concern His blue eyes seemed dull somehow, and sad. "Am I to understand that some kind of disagreement occurred between you and Mr Snape this morning at breakfast? Or, I should say, lunch."

"No sir, it wasn't a problem. Merely a discussion, which got a little heated."

"Hmm," replied Dumbledore, looking doubtful, "so you mean for me to believe that this has not upset you in any way Miss Evans? Because, forgive me, it is not working."

Lily smiled weakly, Dumbledore had a way of calming a person as he spoke, the energy that surrounded him was contagious.

"It is unfortunate," he continued, "that all students can't get along peacefully. Now and again, tempers are bound to get the better of even the most controlled people. Especially after those people spend their nights in forbidden after-dark parties."

Lily raised her eyebrows, and Dumbledore chuckled. "Oh believe me, I know more about the antics of the young than I am given credit for." The trademark sparkle in his eyes had returned. "But, I want you to know, Lily, that help at Hogwarts is never far away. Your friends may have their own ideas about the best way to deal with things," his mouthed twitched upwards slightly, "but the older, wiser members of our community have some experience with this kind of thing."

"Thank you sir," mumbled Lily as she bent to pick up the books that had spilt from her bag.

"And Lily? She looked up. Dumbledore's eyes were glistening. "Some friends may change Lily. But the true friends will respect you for who you are, even when your decisions may cause them pain, because they would rather not see you unhappy."

Lily looked down, trying to decipher the meaning behind Dumbledore's choice of words. When she looked up again, he was gone.


	5. Dreams and Detentions

Lily walked through the empty corridors of Hogwarts. She didn't know where she was going. She only knew that somehow, this would be the end. Something tugged at her, pulling her towards the Entrance Hall. Instinctively, she knew that she was headed towards the dungeons. A small part of her brain screamed out to her to turn around, but she couldn't remember why.

As she passed through the deserted Entrance Hall, she happened to notice that three people were in it already, but they were tied up. How odd. Stepping past them, part of her noticed that it was Sirius, Remus and James. Their hands and arms were bound, and strips of Spellotape covered their mouths. They looked at her with pleading eyes, warning her. But she kept going, because Lily didn't know why she shouldn't.

Stepping into the dark, misty area of the dungeons, Lily began to feel nervous. She reached into her pocket to pull out her wand, but it wasn't there. Why wasn't it there? She had rarely forgotten anything. Lily began to panic.

A high pitched laughed echoed around the dungeon. She spun around realising a second too late, that a wand was pointed directly at her. Its owner had greasy black hair, and cruel eyes. He considered her for a moment, and raised his arm. "_Avada Keda_-"

"Lily! Lily! Wake up!"

Someone was shaking her gently. "Stop it," moaned Lily, still stuck in her nightmare.

"Evans!" cried a new voice, more forceful, "we have detention with McGonagall and Snivellus in five min-"

Lily sat bolt upright, sweat already breaking out on her forehead.

"That was fast," muttered Sirius.

Adjusting her eyes, Lily found herself surrounded by Remus and Sirius, both looking at her like she was dangerous.

"Detention?" whispered Lily, her voice cracking.

"Well you're not in detention. But you have to come anyway." Said Sirius, rolling his eyes. "Because of course, you wouldn't want your perfect record tarnished or anything."

"For god's sake Padfoot, _shut up! _She's obviously very upset and-"

"Don't start on me Moony! I'm just trying to calm her down and-"

"Both of you be quiet," added a new voice, softer, but commanding. James exited from the boy's tower and his presence calmed Lily immensely. She hated seeing any of them fight, especially Remus. It didn't feel right.

"Lily?" asked James, offering her his hand. She took it, and he helped her from the cosy chair. Remus and Sirius seemed to have forgotten their fight, as they suddenly were grinning widely. James and Lily both blushed furiously, and as soon as they were outside the common room, James released her hand.

James kept a fast pace, slightly ahead of the others, and Lily fought to keep up with him. Once they were several feet away, James relaxed and lowered his voice. "So Lily," he asked tentatively, "have you made any plans for this weekend?"

Lily was confused and kept silent. James tried again. "Because I thought that maybe we could go into Hogsmeade together." He trailed off, and looked up hopefully.

"Don't you have Quidditch practice," asked Lily, not realising until a moment late that she had sounded extremely rude.

"Oh," was all James managed, "no, not until the afternoon. But, um, I thought maybe we could just go for a while in the morning, um, and you could come to practice. Unless you don't want to, which is, er, totally fine, you know."

"Oh no, James, I would love to go with you!" Before she had a chance to think about it, Lily leant in and gave him a brief hug. James looked shocked, but incredibly pleased. Lily didn't fail to notice that the chatter behind them had stopped, until Sirius burst out laughing, and Remus had to drag him the rest of the way to McGonagall's office.

Snape was already there. No greeting was made by either party, apart from a low hiss from Sirius.

McGonagall swept into the room, and barked "wands please." She conjured four scrubbing brushed with her wand, and they landed neatly in each of the boys hands. "The boy's toilet down the corridor is absolutely filthy. Mr Filch was going to clear it himself, but I volunteered you four instead. Mr Filch will be supervising, and those toilets better be spotless by nine o'clock. Miss Evans, take a seat."

The boys, including Snape trailed off miserably. Sirius still managed to wink at Lily, Remus smiled, and James waved awkwardly. Lily sat on the chair in front of McGonagall's desk, feeling nervous.

"Considering your record, Miss Evans, I gather that the events that took place this morning were not your fault in the slightest, and it came down to a competition between teenage boys over nothing?"

"Not exactly, professor," replied Lily, slightly more confidently now. "They were defending me. Sever- I mean, Snape called me a, a…" Lily looked down. The memory clawed at her, threatening to drag her into misery.

"Professor Dumbledore mentioned that he had a little chat with you." said McGonagall, not unkindly.

"Yes Professor."

"And I trust that you are not unhappy?"

"Not unbearably so."

McGonagall smiled, or as close as she ever came to smiling. "You may come to me, Lily, if you ever need help, you understand, yes?"

Lily nodded, and was excused. McGonagall had realised Lily was not going to give any more information. She returned to the common room and sat, staring into the fire. The crowds of students began to clear, and it was past nine thirty. But James, Remus and Sirius did not return. It was around eleven that she retired to her dormitory.

When she went down to breakfast next morning, Remus and Sirius sat together, and this time, Peter Pettigrew had joined them. There was a spare seat next to Sirius, and Lily took it. "Where's James? She asked, as Sirius pushed her copy of the _Daily Prophet_ towards her.

None of them answered. Lily looked up. Remus was busy rummaging through his bag, and Sirius quickly shoved three slices of toast and a piece of bacon into his mouth.

"Fine." she said. "How was detention?" Once again, the guys become unusually busy. Remus was reading through his timetable, which he had memorised anyway, and Sirius had added an egg and some porridge to his already overflowing mouth. He started to choke, and Lily pulled out her wand.

"_Anapneo,_" she said firmly, and Sirius returned to his normal colour. "Where's James, Sirius?" she questioned, more firmly this time. Sirius looked towards Remus, who nodded slowly.

"Hospital wing," muttered Sirius, looking down.

Lily's heart skipped a beat. "What? Why? What happened?"

Remus sighed. "Okay, I'll suppose you'll find out anyway. We finished cleaning the toilets around nine. McGonagall gave us back our wands. The second we had left her office, Snape asked James if Mudbloods, I mean, muggle borns, were better in bed. James hit Sirius with a Bat-Bogey Hex, which Snape deflected, but James was then struck by Snape with the Slug-Vomiting Charm."

"Which is disgusting, by the way," interrupted Sirius, "Great, big, slimy-"

"Anyway," said Remus, throwing Sirius an annoyed look, "McGonagall dragged Snivellus away to Slughorn, and we couldn't get the spewing to stop. Madam Pomfrey didn't ask a single question."

"I'm going to go see him," announced Lily, rising from her chair.

"But Lily," interjected Sirius, "we've got Divination now, you can't ditch-"

"Divination is a load of waffle anyway, do you really think-"

"What I meant was, you're not ditching without me too! As if I'm going to sit through a lecture about smoke patterns?"

"Maybe Lily should go by herself, Sirius," said Remus, as though Sirius was missing something very obvious.

Lily picked up her books and left before Sirius could follow her.


	6. The Best Ever NonDate

**AARGH! I wasn't very happy with this chapter. I couldn't get it right. I've written it three of four times, starting entirely from scratch each time, but I know I'm missing something. If you have any comments about it, review please. **

**The next chapter is the final one. It will be much longer than the previous chapters, so it will not be up for a while. It contains several not-to-be-missed scenes, including a "final showdon". Stay tuned!**

* * *

Lily found James in the Hospital Wing. There was no curtain around him, which meant his condition wasn't too serious. His bed was raised slightly, and he was surrounded by a mountain of pillows. Lily didn't fail to notice the bucket concealed under the bed, or the trail of slime that indicated at least one slug got away.

James smiled weakly when he saw Lily, and gave her a half-hearted wave. "Hi, Lily," he croaked. His voice was so low and rough. Lily had to get very close for her to hear it.

"Oh James," she sighed, "Didn't you think that he _wanted_ you to react?"

"Of course," replied James, "But I didn't think he would fight back! Anyway, I didn't lose."

"Are you kidding me? There is a bucket under your bed that has about twenty slugs in it! I think vomiting up slugs counts as losing."

"Humph," was all the answer Lily received, before Madam Pomfrey insisted that James needed to sleep.

James was released from the Hospital Wing on Friday, the day before the Hogsmeade trip. Lily was worried he might have forgotten, but while she was in the library, a little paper plane flew itself into the library and began to circle around. Everyone pointed at it and laughed, including Lily. Her laughter turned to surprise as it fell from the air and landed on the book she had opened. Unfolding it, the parchment read,

_Lily,_

_Meet me tomorrow morning in the Entrance Hall at nine. Wear good walking shoes._

_James._

Lily was intrigued. She searched for James that afternoon, but Peter had told her he had Quidditch practice, before nervously scampering away. Lily couldn't help but dislike Peter. He seemed like he was only around for protection from the bullies in Slytherin who liked to pick on him. But Lily didn't like to upset any of her friends, so she kept her mouth shut.

It was very late when Lily fell asleep. She had been trying to drift off for hours, not wanting huge bags under her eyes for her date. Was it a date? She thought. Was this a date or just an outing between friends? What would she say? What would she wear? Lily was plagued by questions in her mind, until finally her exhaustion took over.

None of her friends were anywhere to be seen in the morning. She dressed quickly, but carefully. It was cold, so she opted for jeans, a nice warm jumper and a Gryffindor scarf. If she was going to Quidditch practice later, she might as well look like she supported her House. She also put on her runners, they were strong and supportive.

Lily couldn't eat anything as she sat in the Great Hall with her friend Jasmine. Her watch ticked closer and closer to nine. When she couldn't wait any longer, she left the table and walked quickly into the Entrance Hall. There were many students there, all of them waiting to meet up with others before going into the village. After about five minutes of pacing, Lily looked up to see James walking towards her. He had several jacket on, and carried a large backpack. Lily admitted to herself he was very handsome, something she had been denying for five years. "Hi," she said breathlessly.

"Hey. Shall we go?"

They walked out of the castle together, past Filch, who eyed them suspiciously. They talked a lot as they wandered slowly down the path. Lily asked James about Quidditch, James asked Lily about her family. Lily asked James about his future career options. James asked Lily about her friends.

When they reached the village, Lily waited for James to take them into one of the cosy looking buildings. "No, not today," said James with a smile. "You don't think I made you were strong shoes for nothing, do you?"

Lily, growing more and more curious, continued down the path. They had passed most of the shops, most of the buildings were cottages now. They approached the Hog's Head, and Lily silently begged not to go in there. But they passed it, and reached the end of the lane, surrounded by trees in front of them. She looked at him sideways, and he was grinning at her. "We're going through here," and pushing back a branch, she saw a little pathway through the overgrown trees. He offered his hand, and he helped her through the first few bushes.

They walked mostly in silence. Lily was wary, but excited, this was more interesting than a coffee shop! She got slightly scared when James halted, but after he pulled out his wand and whispered, "_Point me_" and they continued walking, her fears eased. The path began to travel uphill. James, athletic and fit from his training, had no trouble, but Lily could not keep up so easily. They paused frequently, but James didn't seem to mind.

"How long?" she gasped, as she clutched onto James arm.

He smirked slightly. "Not far, just past that big willow tree." He pulled the long branches that hung down in an arc aside, and allowed Lily to step past him. She emerged from the trees, and her breath caught in her throat. The path had come out onto the top of a hill. The hill overlooked the entire of Hogsmeade village. In the distance, cradled in the magnificent mountains, she could see Hogwarts, with the large towers jutting into the sky. The sun was rising over the mountains. It was the most breathtaking scene Lily had ever witnessed.

"Pretty, isn't it?" James commented from just beside her. Her reply was lost when she realised how close he was to her. She could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck.

He pulled a blanket out from his backpack, followed by a basket. He laid the blanket out on the grass and sat down, gesturing for her do join him. She did so, and James offered her a goblet from the basket, which he filled with water from his wand.

Lily noticed how whenever she moved, his position adjusted too. Only slightly, but still, it was like a string was pulling him into mirroring her movements. They talked more. Lily never felt more at ease around a boy. James didn't need the physical kind of thing. He was happy to listen. He couldn't seem to get enough of Lily's voice. Whenever she stopped talking, he would ask another question, and she would start again. It was several hours before James interrupted her. "We have to go back soon," he reminded her quietly. "Your going to watch me train, remember?"

His closeness to her had driven this unwelcome reminder from her thoughts. "Of course." She stood up smoothly, pulling out her wand. In one sweeping motion of her arm, the goblets, plates and leftover food piled itself back into the basket, the blanket folded itself and the objects returned to James' backpack.

"Impressive, Evans," chuckled James, his teasing ways returning.

The walk back to Hogwarts was mostly silent. Lily didn't fail to see that Sirius, Remus and Peter were all in Zonko's, purchasing trick roses that squirted Stinksap into the holder's face. James saw it too and laughing loudly, said, "Don't accept anything they ever give you after a trip to Hogsmeade. In our third year, Sirius gave Peter a packet of peanuts. Turn out they were "Cockroach Clusters." Poor Peter spent the next three days in the bathroom vomiting!" He chuckled as he fondly remembered this incident.

They reached the Quidditch pitch after training had started. James was scolded by the team captain, and went to change into his robes, while Lily found a seat in the stands. She watched him race around the pitch on his broom. On the ground, although skinny, he was strong with visible muscles along his arms. But in the air, Lily compared him as a bird. Effortlessly, he zoomed around the pitch, he seemed weightless, majestic and utterly perfect.

The hour passed quickly. Lily, intent on James, had barely noticed the time. But suddenly, he had landed, and was waving his arms.

"Lily!" he cried, "Come down!"

Lily picked her way through the maze of seats until she reached the pitch. "Would you like to try?" James asked, winking at her.

"James, I've never ridden one of these before."

"Of course you have, we all took classes."

"Um," said Lily, looking at her feet, "after the first two classes, I kept one ditching until they let me drop the subject."

James mouth hung open. Playfully, she leant forward and pushed his chin up to close his mouth. "You?" he stuttered, "Ditched class? _You_?"

"Guilty," nodded Lily.

James cleared is throat and turned towards the broom again. He was very obviously trying not to laugh, or holding back a teasing comment. "Okay then, first, you need to know how to hold a broom…"

James began a very detailed explanation on the proper way to mount, raise, turn and land a broom. It was all very confusing. Eventually, James asked her to get on it, and she scrambled on quickly. James slid on behind her and moved her hands into the correct position.

"Okay," he said quietly, "when I get off, I am going to count to three and you kick off the ground. I'll mount mine and be up alongside you."

Carefully, he moved off the broom without upsetting Lily's delicate balance. "One," he said, "two, THREE!"

Lily kicked off the ground, hard, she rose into the air, and the wind whipped her hair around her face. She hadn't been in the air for 10 seconds when James saw her, his eyes sparkling with delight. They spent the rest of the afternoon racing around the Quidditch pitch. Lily won every race, but she knew James was letting her win. On the last round, he beat her easily, by at least thirty metres. "Impressive, Potter," she said in an imitation of his earlier comment. He laughed, an infectious sound, and Lily couldn't help laughing with them, and they couldn't stop for a very long time.


	7. Different Kinds of Love

The morning of the Quidditch final dawned cold and bright. There were no clouds in the sky, and the air felt fresh and crisp. Anyone who walked through the corridors could feel the excitement, mixed with tension and rivalry that always infected Hogwarts in the lead up to a Quidditch match.

Gryffindor had pulverised Ravenclaw in the semi-finals, a massive 240 points to ten. The Ravenclaws were strangely not bothered by this, perhaps because they knew Gryffindor had more chance of beating Slytherin than them, a feat not achieved for the last seven years.

The week of the final had been marked by strange and disturbing incidences, which left the Hospital Wing quite full. Most of the jinxing, hexing and cursing had been harmless rivalry and the teachers did not object too much, but a few of the older students did not hold back. Sirius spent his lunchtimes in detention after he managed to turn Macnair, a Slytherin sixth year, into a bizarre mixture of a rabbit and a ferret. Macnair disappeared for a while, but was found the next morning crouching in the boy's toilet on the third floor, quivering and twitching. Poor Remus was caught up in the fighting, while attempting to separate two third years, a jinx hit him full in the face, and his skin became hairy, and within seconds, the new hairs had gone past his chin. Escorted to the Hospital Wing by James, who was roaring with laughter, the usually good-natured Remus snarled threateningly at anyone who looked at him funny.

Lily woke up a little late, and didn't want to miss breakfast before she went and watched James play. Lily put on her cardigan, which wasn't very warm, but she couldn't find her jumper. She spent the next ten minutes turning the contents of her trunk onto her neighbour's bed, but it was nowhere to be found. Of course, it was only_ after _she went through all of this that she remembered the potion Sirius had spilt all over her on Friday, burning a hole in her favourite jumper. So today, she would have to deal with it.

But, she was not to worry. As Lily descended the stairs to the common room, she found a small, but very welcome surprise waiting for her.

James and Sirius stood at the bottom of the stairs, grinning up at her. James was already in his Quidditch robes. Sirius was clutching a brown package.

"Hi Lily," said James, "Sirius has a present for you. He bought it, but I did the artwork." He grinned, and added, "See you at the game."

James left through the portrait hole, and Sirius began to rip open the brown paper. Pausing, he looked up and said, "Close your eyes, Evans."

Lily closed her eyes, and heard Sirius still ripping open the brown package. She started slightly when she felt something warm and woolly being pulled over her head. Realising that it was a jumper of some sort, she began to help put it on. "Okay," muttered Sirius, "open."

Lily opened her eyes. Looking down, she found that she was wearing a maroon jumper, similar to the one that Sirius destroyed. But the artwork on it was quite different to her old plain jumper. The jumper featured two animals. One was a stag, with magnificent antlers and a beautiful, glossy coat. It stood tall, and when you looked at it, it felt like it was staring right at you.

The other animal was a doe. It was graceful, and the most elegant-looking creature Lily had ever seen. It stood next to the stag, slightly smaller, but just as powerful. Lily felt drawn to the doe; it was as though she felt it was part of her.

Both animals seemed to glow, and Lily realised that they were faintly letting off a golden light. Underneath them was a name, in Golden thread. James Potter. She felt tears gathering in her eyes. She looked up to thank Sirius, but he had slipped quietly away.

***

Lily walked through the corridors on her way to the Entrance Hall, feeling warm in her new jumper. Her stomach no longer reminded her it was hungry and she felt perfectly content.

The moment was not to last.

She was on the fourth floor when she new something was wrong. Lily stopped dead in her tracks, listening. There wasn't a single sound, but the back of her neck prickled. She reached for her wand in her jeans pocket, but it wasn't there. The feeling of danger increased. She felt through every pocket she had, but her wand was nowhere to be found. Lily dropped to the ground, looking around. Still kneeling down, she spun around to see if she had dropped her wand behind her. Instead, she was facing two big black shoes. Lily froze completely. She knew those shoes. She had given them as a gift for a Christmas present in her fourth year.

"Hello Lily," a soft voice drawled. Lily felt tears gathering in her eyes, but they were not tears of happiness, they were tears of anger and fear. With no wand in hand, Lily was practically defenceless. However, still in her crouched position on the floor, Lily dived at the pair of legs, knocking their owner backwards. No sooner had she done this, when she was blasted ten feet backwards, into a portrait that screamed in displeasure. Lily felt her fingers break as she threw her hands out to stop her face hitting the floor. Forcing herself to remain calm, Lily looked up, pushing her hair aside with her uninjured hand.

Snape walked towards her, with a look of pity on his face. Choosing to ignore this, Lily looked at his hands. Her willow wand was there, as well as his own. "How easy it is to summon one's wand, without you even noticing." He twirled it in his fingers, "I wanted to make this as easy as possible, and you being armed would not help."

He had reached her now, and bent down to where she was slumped against the wall. Grabbing her hand, he examined it closely. "I didn't have to do that, you know. I was hoping you would make this easy." He swished his wand, and Lily felt the bones reconnect. Lily looked down at the stag on her jumper.

"What's that?" asked Snape, looking slightly wary. He spotted James' name, in golden thread on the jumper. His look of caution changed to shock, then anger, then rage. "Y-y-you can't. Not possible. No." He stood up so quickly Lily almost missed it. "You know him. You _hate _him. Please don't do this Lily." He cupped Lily's chin in his hand, and lifted it so she had to look at him. "Tell me you don't love him."

Lily shook her head, staring defiantly into his eyes.

"Lily," mumbled Severus, "_I_ love you. I always have. Please don't say you love him." He grabbed her arm, and moved his face closer to hers. Lily was scared, mad and wanted to get away. She felt her whole body shake violently, and ripples of heat rolled through her skin.

"Aargh!" cried Snape, releasing his grasp on her arm and jerking his hand away. Lily stared at the angry red marks that were spreading across his palm. His hand was burned, and badly. He dropped the wands, and Lily dived for them. She got to hers, but Snape got to his as well.

New energy seemed to flow through Lily. Her wand twisted in her palm, and she cried, "Petrificus Totalus!" Snape didn't even have time to raise his wand. His body went rigid, and he fell, stiff as a board, crashing onto the floor. She got up slowly, still very cautious of the wand in his hand. Lily walked slowly towards Snape. She kicked his wand away. He gazed up at her, looking absolutely terrified.

Lily found that she couldn't hurt him. The words, the action and the feeling just wouldn't come. "I'm not going to hurt you. It wouldn't be right." She crouched down and wiped the hair of his face. "You're my best friend, Sev. There are different kinds of love, and the one I have for you is different to the love I have for James. But I don't think you'll ever understand that."

She got up, and walked away, down the corridor. Before she reached the end, she muttered the counter curse. As she turned the corner to the staircases, she looked backwards. Snape was already gone.


	8. Chapter 8

**I got sick of Pettigrew, he really annoys me. So he won't be in this anymore, it will be as though he is not part of their group.**

It took Lily twenty minutes to drag her feet to the Entrance Hall. She felt as though she was carrying a huge weight on her shoulders, and it was dragging her down. What she wouldn't give to let it all end, to feel nothing anymore. How hard could it be to finish it, to stop the pain, and to drift, without emotion?

_Why?_ She thought, why was she to hurt everyone she ever met? Was she really such a horrible person? Anyone she loved, she made them suffer. Would it be better, for those she cared for, if she just stopped trying? Sank away into an empty shell, never to make tears fall for her again?

The first breath of fresh air as she stepped into the grounds was like the breath of life. It cleared her mind, unclouded her vision, and removed the dangerous thoughts from her head. Lily breathed in deeply, like the air was a drug, or a precious life-preserver. The last trickle of late-comers were jogging own the grounds towards the Quidditch pitch. Lily heard yells and cheering and clapping. The sounds escalated to a roar, and lily knew the match was about to begin. They teams were probably walking onto the pitch now.

"There you are, Lily!" cried a voice. Lily spun around, almost falling over in her haste. Remus caught her before she hit the ground. He looked as though he was about to laugh at her, but then registered the look on her face. He pulled her to her feet, and said, "Right, where is he? I swear this time the slime ball won't get off so easily."

Lily put a hand on Remus' arm. "No," she mumbled, "Leave it." Had this been James or Sirius, they would have not listened. But Remus was definitely different. He seemed to become smaller again, his anger had given him a new height. At Lily's words, he deflated, and relaxed.

"Come on then," he said, putting his hand on her back, pushing her forward a bit, "We're going to miss the start. Lily was grateful he didn't ask any more questions.

They hurried into the stadium, and found Sirius, who had seats and two flasks of pumpkin juice. Right as they took their seats, Madam Hooch's whistle sounded, and 15 brooms rose into the air. The crowd was on its feet screaming, and Lily felt the atmosphere around her heighten.

The first major incident occurred three minutes into the game. Avery, on the Slytherin side, was a beater. He was big and sloppy. As he chased down a bludger, the Gryffindor chaser, Prewett, was zooming in the other direction, Quaffle under his arm. As they drew level, Avery stuck out his bat, and it collided with a sickening crunch into Prewett's face. The crowd watched in horror as Prewett slipped from his broom, and fell, unconscious. Madam Hooch dashed along underneath and caught him on her broom just under a metre above the ground. Play resumed after Prewett was escorted by Professor McGonagall off the pitch. Gryffindor was a player down.

Around twenty minutes in, Lily was watching James closely. He was circling the pitch, with the Slytherin seeker close behind. Suddenly, like an eagle, James dived. He and the Slytherin, who had followed, hurtled towards the ground, gaining speed. Lily spotted the Snitch in a moment where the sun flashed on it, and saw it turn away from the ground. James followed, pulling his broom around. The Snitch sprinted around the edge of the stands, and as James went past, Lily could see the sweat on his face as he flew after it. The crowd was on the edge of their seat. Several times, the Slytherin chasers tried to block James, but he dodged them easily. James was just over two metres above the ground now, and closing in. He stretched out his hand, only centimetres away and-

CRASH. Out of no where, the Slytherin seeker had tried to come in from above had collided with James, who was going so fast, that both players were thrown off their brooms. James' crashed into the ground, while the Slytherin's rocketed away, before slamming into one of the goalposts and whirling into the stands.

Both players were face down in the dirt. The crowd was silent. Not even the players in the air dared move. After a tense moment, James pulled his arm out from underneath him, and, still face down, lifted it into the air. No one could have mistaken what was in his hands. Witch a slow start, a great roar began to grow, as people realised the result. Madam Pomfrey, Slughorn and several other teachers could be seen running onto the pitch, and bending over the two players. Never had a final ended in such an unusual way. The students poured onto the pitch, and, despite a probable concussion and with a large graze on his forehead, the students pushed through the teachers to lift James into the air, cheering his name.

Lily stood slightly back, laughing to herself. Sirius was dancing wildly, and pulled Remus into a kind of twirl, which Remus pulled out of and turned away, clearly embarrassed. The crowd parted slightly. Severus was standing there, clearly watching her. Lily felt nothing of the fear, and hurt that had been dominating her. She smiled, and Snape gave her a quick nod, before disappearing into the pack.

***

"Chuck us another one, Lily, I'm starving."

"God Sirius, don't you think you've had enough Cauldron Cakes for one trip?"

"Evans, this _one trip_ goes for six hours. That's lunch, afternoon tea, and snacks all need to be supplied. Duh."

"Yeah, and we only half an hour in! Save some for later."

"We can always get more. I'm hungry now!"

"Shut up Padfoot."

"You're one to talk Prongs, look how many Liquorice wands you've eaten."

"I said, _shut up_!"

"Guys!" said Remus, putting down his _Daily Prophet_, "Do you mind? You make more noise than the Owlery."

Sirius folded his arms over his chest, looking remarkably like a two year old. James stuck out his tongue, and kept playing with the Snitch he had taken as a memento of the Quidditch final. Remus returned to his paper, and Lily saw Sirius steal another cake from their supply.

"So Lily," said James, "Are you coming over during the summer or what? We have another bedroom, Remus can share a room with Sirius."

"You've got to be _joking_," said Remus and Sirius in unison.

James rolled his eyes. "So how about it? My parents won't mind."

"Thanks James," Lily said, "But I'm going to Australia with my parents. We won't be back until mid-August."

"That's fine! You can still come! Then we'll go into Diagon Alley and you can get your stuff with us!"

Remus ducked his head further behind his paper, and lily suspected he was grinning. Sirius rolled his eyes, but was also trying to suppress laughter, but with less success.

"Okay James, fine."

After passing the next few hours with Exploding Snap and discussing the highlights of the year, it was time to depart. They crossed the barrier into the muggle world together. Lily's parents waved happily. She noticed they were talking to another, older couple. Sirius told her they were the Potters. "What a coincidence," Remus said, laughing.

After hurried introductions, it was time to leave. Sirius and Remus both hugged Lily, before going off with their parents. Lily found herself very close to James. He leant forward slightly, but Lily shook her head, and pulled away. "Not yet," she whispered. James looked into her eyes, shrugged, and pulled her into a hug. Lily was reminded of Dumbledore's words to her. "True friends will respect you, even if you're decisions cause them pain."

"I'll see you in August, Lily." He pulled away, and smiled at her. "Make sure you right while you're in Australia. I can't stand it if I only have Sirius and Remus to talk to."

Lily and James turned to their parents. Lily's mother had taken a shine to James already, but she noticed her father was eyeing him suspiciously. Lily considered her dad to be the king of over-protective fathers when it comes to boys.

They walked out of the station. Lily put her trunk in her car, and moved to get in, but James' hand caught hers. Something round and metal was pushed into her hand. "See you," he said, and shut the door. Lily opened her palm. It was the Golden Snitch.

**That's it! The End! Finale! Fini! Complete! **

**If you weren't paying attention at the beginning of this chapter, I decided to cut Wormtail from the story. He annoys me so much, and having him there would have made it too hard.**


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